Chorlton Central Church

Marina James was baptised at a lively service on Easter Day.

Chorlton Central Church practises baptism both of adults - the practise of the Baptist Church, and of children - the practise of the United Reformed Church.

Baptism as an adult is a public commitment to the Christian Faith, and echoes the initiation practised by John the Baptiser, who baptised penitents in the river Jordan, culminating with the baptism of Jesus. The initiative lies with the individual, and in today's Church it is normally preceded by a period of teaching about key Christian beliefs and practises.

Baptism as an infant recognises the commitment made by Christian parents to bring up their child in the Christian faith - the child is welcomed as a member of the Christian Community who will hopefully make their own commitment when they are mature enough to do so.

The aim is not to ensnare children, but to offer them the benefits of growth and development in a community in which mutual respect, acceptance and love are the norm and the aim.

In the UK, the major Christian Churches all recognise Baptism carried out in any other Church, whether as a child or an adult, - it is a once in a lifetime event and is not repeated even if the person subsequently transfers to another denomination.

______________________________________________________________________________

Katie Robb, Deputy Manager at the Manchester Oxfam Emporium, and three of her colleagues have signed up to tackle the Oxfam Trailtrekkers challenge.

This is a sponsored walk with a difference.

The difference is that the route is a 100km trek in the Yorkshire Dales, to be covered in 30 hours; and the route includes the summit of Pen-y-Ghent !

Katie, together with Joanne Maylott, Emma Cooney and Anneke Strachan, hope to raise £2,000 for Oxfam.

The walk is on 30th - 31st May 2009


The Oxfam Emporium is at 8-10 Oldham Street, Piccadilly, Manchester M1 1JQ, open Mon - Sat 9.30am - 5pm, Sun 11am - 5pm. The Emporium offers a huge selection of vinyl, CDs, videos and DVDs, together with quality mens, womens and childrens clothes and Designerwear.

To sponsor Katie and her colleagues visit their webpage at Justgiving.com by clicking here

_____________________________________________________________________________

L'Arche builds communities with people who have learning disabilities. Together with assistants, they live in ordinary houses, with choice in and access to work, therapy and local resources. The nine L'Arche communities in England, Scotland and Wales are founded on Christian values, also welcoming people of other faiths and none.

Stewart Graham, seen (left) in the Great North Run, is involved in discussions about setting up a L'Arche community in Manchester. He took part in the Great North Run on behalf of L'Arche; you can contribute by visiting his page at www.justgiving.com, and (if you pay UK income tax) HM Revenue & Customs will add to the value of your gift through the Gift Aid scheme.

This is a chance to get to know people, to talk about L'Arche, and to reflect on what the future will hold for a community in South Manchester. All ages welcome; but bring wellies if wet !

Visit L'Arche website

_____________________________________________________________________________

revised 4 July 2009